DayMare
by anni-viech
Summary: The young, "mediumistic" student Alice Harwood decides to visit a relative during semester break - without knowing that this visit might signify her end. Because her own inborn ability will lead to her doom... - Based on Silent Hill 4: The Room
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Why, hello there~ I'm glad that someone actually ended up clicking on this story, wanting to check it out :)  
Let me first explain the background of this fanfic, though, before you head on to read the actual thing._

_I'm currently using the story this fanfic is based on also for an online fan comic. You can find a link to it in my profile.  
Originally _DayMare_ was supposed to start as a fanfiction, in fact, but after not having worked on anything resembling a comic for a while, I decided to give it a shot and used the plot of this story for it. But since I'm a very slow updater when it comes to drawing comic pages (and, to be completely honest, in general) and the ideas for _DayMare_ just keep coming and coming, wanting to be written down in some way, I decided to follow my original intention and create a fanfic with it as well. So, there you go, that's the basic thing behind it.  
(So, beware, updates here might come very slowly as well. I tend to lose my motivation rather quickly at times, alas...)_

_Now, to some general story related notes;  
This fanfic is based on the video game _Silent Hill 4: The Room_ from Konami and will cointain **major spoilers** to the game.  
Background story, some characters and places are © by Konami. I only own my original characters and the basic plot lines. And no, I do not make any money with this. ;)_

_**Summary:** The young, "mediumistic" student Alice Harwood decides to visit an old friend during semester break - without knowing that this visit might signify her end. Because her own inborn ability will lead to her doom..._

_Phew, that's about it.  
Now, I hope I didn't bore you all too much and that you enjoy this story :)_

* * *

**DayMare - 01**

There she was again.

A thick layer of fog was making it hard to make out the whole of her surroundings, but the by now familiar wooden walls just next to and behind her that she _could_ see - covered with the occassional graffiti, which she assumed to have been put there by child's hand - told her she was back again.  
This was the third time now she found herself in this weird foggy yard within just a few days. She really started to wonder whose dreams were so centered on this place. And why the heck she hadn't been able to find the dream's owner so far... That was what confused her the most. It was already unusual enough to be drawn into the same person's dream _thrice_, but not seeing the dreaming person itself? That was a first.

Having taken a look around her to make sure that there really was no one to be seen, she decided to investigate this place a bit further, since she hadn't been able to see much of it during her earlier visits. Maybe this time she would be able find out something.  
After just a few metres of walking she could make out that large house with the flat roof in the fog, that she had caught a glimpse of on her last visit. With every step she made towards it, the fog seemed to lose more of the layers obscuring the building, and when she was close enough to see it clearly, another sight made her stop dead in her tracks. There was someone standing in front of the building, with their back to her, looking at a door to which a few wooden stairs led to. The length of the person's light hair made her think of a female at first, but then she noticed the broad shoulders which the tips of the hair just about brushed.

So she had finally found the dream's owner, it seemed._ 'About time.'_  
With a bit more enthusiasm she resumed her steps towards the house, and just as she was about to call the man's attention with a casual "Hey-" her surroundings started to fade away.

She became aware of a ringing sound penetrating her mind, faintly at first but growing louder with the second. And louder still, until she finally snapped her grayish-green eyes open with a small gasp and woke up for good. Groaning, she felt around for the source of the ringing on the nightstand next to the bed she lay in, finding it after a moment and pulling it over to her, while sitting up sleepily. She could barely keep her eyes open in the early sunlight that was lighting up the room when she answered her mobile phone. "Hello?"  
_"Alice...? Sorry, did I wake you up?"_, a familiar voice asked, in a rather unfamiliar uncertain tone.  
A small lazy smile tugged at the corners of Alice' mouth. "Nah, it's okay. What's up?" The young woman pulled some of her dark shortish and bed-mussed hair behind her ear.  
_"Listen, I'm sorry about yesterday."_  
Right to the point, eh?  
_"So... I was thinking of making up for it by treating you to some breakfast."_  
The small smile on her face broadened and this time even reached her eyes. "Sounds good", she agreed. She really would like to get a few things explained. And at what better occasion than over some nice, free breakfast?  
_"Great! I'll pick you up at the hotel in about half an hour then."_  
"Alright. I'm in room 205. Later then."

When there came no other response, Alice closed the flap of her phone and breathed a sigh. "Oh man, what a timing..." Just when she had finally found the person who was dreaming so much of that place...  
But she was glad he had called. He had been acting pretty weird yesterday evening... _'Seems like there really did happen something.'_

* * *

_-The evening before-_

She could barely surpress a silly grin in her excitement, as she knocked on the door - just a few inches under the sign that labeled it as belonging to apartment 302 - and took a few steps back to where her traveling bag was standing on the floor, putting some space between her and the door. When it slowly opened after a few seconds, she threw her arms to the sides in a presenting pose and greeted the half hidden face behind the door with a cheerful "Surprise!".

And a surprise it really was, judging from the stunned expression on the brunet man's face in front of her, who had pushed the door open wide then. It took him a few seconds until he found his voice. "What the... Alice? What are you doing here?"  
The smile faded from the girl's face and turned into a playfully hurt pout, her left hand resting on her waist. "Is that a way to greet your favorite cousin, who went on a long journey just to visit you?" He simply blinked at her in stunned confusion. The slightly darker haired girl clicked her tongue. "Oh, now... Come on and give me hug, Henry!" That seemed to finally snap him out of his daze, and he bent over to pull her into the demanded hug. Into a rather firm one, she thought, which struck her as a bit odd, even if it really _had_ been a while since their last one... It almost had something desperate to it, as if he'd be afraid to let go.

The thought left her again when, after a moment, Henry slowly pulled back to look into her face. He appeared to have recovered from the surprise. "Not that I don't appreaciate your visit... But what exactly brings you here? I mean, it's been years since you last visited me", he added quickly, "And aren't you busy with university lately?"  
"Semester break", Alice replied simply with a grin, before sobering a bit. "As you said, it's been a while since I've visited you... And then there's the fact that no one has been able to get in touch with you over the last few days..." She paused shortly, before adding, "Your parents are worried."  
Henry cocked his head back slightly, giving her a disbelieving look.  
"...Well, your mother is, at least", she finished a bit lamely.

They stood watching each other in the deserted hallway, an uncomfortable silence beginning to spread. Alice decided to break the moment before it could get any more awkward. "Well, anyway, I wanted to see what you've been up to...", she said while passing her older cousin, heading for the opened apartment door. "So, this is your new apart-", she was starting to say, while poking her head through the doorway before Henry could stop her. However, she didn't finish the sentence.  
She had only just stepped over the threshold, when all fo the sudden the air seemed to be pressed out of her lungs. For a few seconds she had no idea what was happening, standing stock still, unable to move, unable to even form a single clear thought. It wasn't until she felt something touching her left shoulder, pulling her back into the hallway, that she felt her body reacting, staggering back, her hand reaching for her head.

"Ugh..." Alice breathed hard, trying to regain her composure. What the hell had just happened?  
When she felt sure it - whatever _'it'_ was - had passed, she looked back to Henry, seeing his hand still hovering uncertainly near her shoulder, and gave him a small strained smile. "Gee, Henry... When was the last time you aired this place?", she asked jokingly, trying to lift the mood, when she became aware that the air inside the apartment actually did appear to be a bit stale. She wasn't really too sure what just had happened herself, and didn't want to freak Henry out, seeing his already troubled face. Sure, he was already aware that sometimes... unusual stuff happened around her, but never something intense like that, and especially not while she was awake... It made her feel a bit uncomfortable, even if he was the one person never having treated her differently because of it.

Seeing that Alice seemed to be all right, he calmed down again, his expression returning to neutral when she joked about it. If she were to put her finger on it, Alice might even say he looked... apologetic.  
Which actually didn't seem too far-fetched, considering what he said next.

"Sorry. Some... stuff happened and made this apartment kinda uninhabitale...", he began. "I'm actually looking for a new place to live and in the process of moving out." He bent over to pick up her traveling bag, and only then did she notice a band-aid on his right forearm, a few scratches covering the bruise colored skin around it. "Had I known that you were intending to visit me, I would have told you so sooner..." He was standing upright now, her bag resting on his arms. And this time his face looked definately apologetic, when he said, "I'm really sorry, but you can't stay here, Alice."

Wait, _what_? Alice stared at him, dumbfounded, not knowing how to react to all the weirdness happening. Had Henry, her _cousin_, really just told her he wouldn't let her stay at his place...? Before she could think of anything to say, he continued, "There's a hotel just across the street. I'll take you there, if you want me to." Still rather taken aback by his actions, she replied in an unsure voice, "Uhm... Sure, thanks..." Again a strained smile. What she actually wanted to say, was something more along the line of, _'Who are you and what have you done to Henry Townshend?'_.

He did take her to the hotel then, which really was just across the street as he had said. He even paid for her room and wouldn't let her argue about it, which seemed more like the Henry she knew. But still... there was definately something off. And she was determined to find out what.

* * *

_-Back to the morning after-_

There was a knock on the door, letting her know that Henry was as punctual as she remembered him to be. She'd had just enough time to take a shower and reflect about what had happened earlier. Grabbing her shoulder bag from the bed, she replied with a "Coming!" to the knock, before opening the door and greeting her cousin.

He took her to a restaurant which, as she was amused to find out, was also just across the street. She could see why he had decided to live in this area, having a restaurant and small kiosks nearby, as well as a subway station to get downtown. Even though his cooking wasn't all that bad, he seemed to prefer buying frozen foods or eating out, though Alice didn't know whether that was because it was more to his liking than his own food, or if he was simply lazy.

At first they kept the conversation light, catching up on what each had been doing since their last phone conversation. Henry seemed to gradually loosen up while they talked, after he had appeared rather tense in the beginning, being even more quiet than was already his nature. Until Alice decided to finally get some answers. "So, why don't you tell me why you're not being your usual self?", she asked in a by-the-way sort of manner while sipping her coffee.  
Henry dropped his gaze. "It's-"  
"And don't tell me it's nothing", Alice cut in, "Because there's definately something off. I know you long enough, Henry."  
He remained silent for a while, still not quite raising his eyes. After a short while then; "A... friend of mine died recently."

Alice frowned, lowering her cup. Why hadn't he told her earlier...? They used to be so close to each other, almost as if they were siblings rather than cousins, and even though she had to admit that there had passed a few years since they actually last saw each other - and that he had seemed to gradually withdraw into himself after moving out - it seemed strange that he hadn't seemed to want to let anyone know about this...  
Back when they had still lived in the same neighbourhood, they had told each other almost everything. When she couldn't talk to anyone else about something that was pulling her down, because of its relation to her _"special abilities"_, Henry had been there. He had listened to her, sometimes even given her advice. When he'd gotten into a fight with his father, he had let himself be easily persuaded to talk about it with her, at times even broaching the topic on his own. Hell, she had even been the first person he had outed himself to.

So why had he now, when something of such weight had occured in his life, not said a single word...?

She was pulled out of her thoughts when his soft voice spoke again.  
"She was... she had been living next door. I..." He seemed to have trouble finding words.  
Something struck Alice as odd, though. Judging from the haunted look in his eyes and the way he gripped his cup so firmly that his knuckles turned white, the death of that person seemed to trouble him a lot. Yet he had never mentioned a neighbour during one of their phone calls... And if that person had been such a good friend that her passing away caused him such pain, why had he never even mentioned her before? If Alice hadn't known better, she might have even thought there had been something going on between them... But since that possibilty seemed rather unlikely, she couldn't help but wonder about the circumstances.

After offering him her sympathies, there was a short lull in the conversation. They managed to pick it up again, though, and Henry seemed to open up towards her a bit more again. After a while Alice even managed to cheer him up a tiny bit, and so it was that they later left the restaurant with small smiles on their faces, while Alice told Henry stories about some of her fellow students and their habits.  
When they were crossing the street, something on the other side seemed to catch Henry's eye, causing his smile to disappear. Alice followed his gaze, but couldn't really make out what he might have seen. They arrived at the inner courtyard belonging to the apartment complex Henry lived at and stopped. Henry turned to face her. "I'm sorry, but as I've already told you, I can't really invite you in...", he began a bit awkwardly.

Not wanting him to close up on her again, Alice shrugged her shoulders and smiled reassuringly. "Can't be helped, you should just see to it that you find a new place soon." Henry seemed relieved hearing her reply. "But that apartment of yours surely won't keep you from going to the movies this evening as well, will it?", she added with a wink. She would have liked to ask him if he'd show her around the town, but he looked rather worn after their talk, so she decided to put it off to one of the following days.  
Something about her question seemed to cloud his face for a moment, though it passed quickly, leaving her to wonder whether she hadn't just imagined it. He finally returned her smile and replied, "No, the movies sound good..." It really had been a while since he'd last went out. "I'll just pick you up at the hotel later then?" She nodded and they said their goodbyes for the moment.

Alice made her way across the street to the hotel, not seeing her cousin walk towards a young man who was standing in front of the apartment building's front door, his eyes following her across the street.

-Chapter 1 end-

* * *

_A/N: Liked it? Interested in reading more? Then, please, do feel free to let me know :)  
Thanks for reading!_


	2. Dreamdiary 1

_A/N: Thanks alot for your reviews, you two! :) Made me happy to hear you're interested in more~  
(At Carneeval: Heh, yeah, you might be right about it sounding similar... ;D Glad you seem to enjoy this version, too~)  
_

_About this chapter: I had the idea to write (and sketch) down some of the dreams Alice shares and experience in a sort of diary entries.  
In the comic they serve as bonus material, you can see them as such here as well. Kinda like fillers while I'm writing the actual chapters ;)_

_I'm thinking about maybe including a few hints and/or elements that relate with the story happenings in future diary entries...  
They also contain some detailed explanations about Alice' ability in her afterthoughts below the entry._

**

* * *

**

**Dreamdiary 01**

It was so beautiful  
and peaceful...

A perfect idyll.

There was no hatred, nor sorrow,  
no pain.

No humans.

And life was good.

* * *

_People who know about it, tend to ask me if it doesn't feel weird to share other people's dreams.  
I always tell them the same thing; I got used to it. It's been that way ever since I've been able to think, after all, so it's normal to me._

_But there are times where I can't tell if a dream was someone else's or my own...  
It makes me feel a bit uneasy, to be perfectly honest..._


	3. Chapter 2

**DayMare 02**

Henry eyed the dark haired man standing in front of the building warily, while walking towards the entrance. The man seemed to be alone and there was no camera to bee seen. Still, he didn't like it. The last few days had taught him to be wary of any strangers loitering around South Ashfields Heights. Those damn, ruthless reporters had been the most decisive of reasons for why he had kept to himself inside his apartment most of the time, even though he actually wished to be anywhere but. And if he'd have to admit it, he was coming to hate them for making him feel locked inside his apartment all over again if he didn't wish to relive all what had happened facing their never ending questions...

He passed the man with another short glance, and just when he thought nothing would happen and he'd be left alone, the man greeted him with a polite "Good morning". Hesitating for a moment, Henry turned his head and replied with a brief "Morning", only slowing his pace for a second. When he was making his way up the two stairs to the door, he heard the man clearing his throat behind him, as well as steps, following him.  
"Excuse me, but aren't you Mr. Townshend?"  
_'Oh, just great.'_ Henry scowled at the heavy door while pulling it open, pretending not have heard the man and disappearing behind it.

Keeping his pace steady, he aimed for the stairway leading up to the floor his apartment was on, choosing to ignore the letterbox for now, despite his earlier plan to clear it. But it seemed that luck wasn't on his side, as the door behind him - not even having fully closed - was pushed open again. Quite the persistent type, it seemed.

"Please excuse my obtrusion, but you are a rather famous man, Mr. Townshend...", the man spoke, catching up with him. Henry could almost hear the fake smile in his voice.  
Henry kept walking and ignoring the other man, even though said man was now walking almost alongside him.  
"I do not intend to take much of your time, I only have a few questions. My name is Brandon Perkins, I'm a freelance journalist."  
The journalist moved forward and held out his hand for Henry to shake, effectively blocking his way.

Henry stopped, watching the extended hand with an unimpressed expression, before raising his eyes to take a first real look at the man. He looked young, probably a few years younger than himself. His clean-shaven face contrasting with his own unkempt stubble, same going for the journalist's smoothed back inky hair, making him look more like some kind of movie celebrity than a freelancer, while Henry's own shaggy hair was slowly in need of a cut.  
Henry ignored the journalist's still extended hand with a slow blink. "Sorry, but I have nothing to tell you." With that he turned away, intending to go upstairs and leave the man behind.

"Ah, of course, I understand that it's still a very fresh wound... I can only imagine how terrible it must be to live through something like this."  
_'No, you cannot.' _Getting more annoyed by the minute, Henry kept walking towards the stairs, having crossed the entrance hall by now.  
"But don't you think the world should hear about it? You could serve as a model and even be a support for a lot of people out there with that exemplary courage of yours." The only reply the journalist got was silence.

"Mr. Townshend", Perkins spoke after a few seconds again. "As you have surely noticed I'm here by myself, without a photographer or any other kind of assistance. I only wish to talk to you, that's all. No cameras, no dictating machines. Just you and me and a couple of minutes." When Henry still didn't show any signs of relenting, he changed his tactics and asked in a more direct approach, "Do you know about a journalist named Joseph Schreiber?"

That finally got a reaction from the lighter haired man. "I have no idea what that would have to do with me", he replied a bit too curtly. That had caught him by surprise... Hearing that name; Joseph. He didn't want to, no, _couldn't take_ being reminded of Joseph right now... of the man who had been trapped inside the same apartment as Henry before him, who had lived through the same nightmare - and who had, contrary to Henry, ended up as a prisoner inside the very walls of that apartment...

Perkins seemed to notice that he had finally gained a foothold and quickly continued, "Well, he lived in your apartment, didn't he? Surely you must have heard of him before..." Noticing that Henry looked more unhappy by the minute, he continued a bit hastier, "That's quite the coincidence that the man, who had written an unfavorable article about some religious cult shortly before disappearing from the face of the earth, had lived in your apartment, with the woman from next door being murdered by what seems to be a copycat of a serial killer who had apparently been raised with said religious cult, don't you think?"  
Bingo. Perkins could tell that he had the man. And that deer in the headlights look paired with what looked like a mix of fear and anger, told him that the man seemed to know a lot more than had he let on so far.

Henry didn't know what to do. He had a hard time containing his anger at the man's blatant ruthlessness, but what was even worse was keeping the fear in check. Fear of someone knowing about it _(and his guilt, oh _God_ the guilt...)_ and prying into his memories, starting the whole horror anew... It was even worse than the fear of being labeled as a lunatic.

He was racking his brain trying to think of something to say, when he suddenly heard stepps approaching them. Turning his head to the side he saw Frank Sunderland, his super, facing the journalist. The old man looked anything but happy.  
"Who the hell allowed you to barge in here to harass my tenants?"  
Perkins had also turned to face Sunderland, a polite yet slightly cold smile on his lips. "I was only asking Mr. Townshend a few questions."  
"I don't care what you call that harassing, you get the hell out of here right now or I'll call the cops."  
The young journalist raised his hands in a submissive gesture. "Okay, okay, no need to get worked up." He threw another long glance at Henry before inclining his head and turning to walk towards the door.

Relieved that he was spared from answering, Henry thanked the super.  
"No need to thank me for that, Henry. I know how troublesome and cruel these folks can be..." A sigh escaped him and he lowered his eyes, his face looking even older than usual. "Back when my son disappeared with his wife... Some of the things they wrote about James and accused him of were truly disgusting." He shook his head, his eyebrows furrowed into a frown. A few moments passed in silence, until Henry mentioned that he still had a few things to do and made his way up the stairs.  
"If..."  
Stopping midway he looked back to the super.  
"If you ever feel like... you know, talking or something, you know where my room is."  
Not knowing what to think about the offer after the scene with that journalist, Henry simply nodded and murmered his thanks, before continuing on the steps.

When he finally arrived in his apartment, greeted by the stale air that simply didn't change, no matter how often he aired the place with the windows opened wide in every room - well, except for one - as well as a few cardboard boxes scattered around the living room, he collapsed into the couch, resting his head on the backrest, eyes closed. He tried his best to calm down again and keep the memories away. He knew that he had to face them some day in order to come to terms with what happened, but not yet. He just couldn't do it quite yet, it was all still too recent.

It took him a while to clear his mind again, but when he had calmed down enough, watching TV had helped distracting him. Just not the news. Never the news these days, they were still reporting about it occasionally. An hour later he got up and made his way towards the adjoining kitchen to get a glass of water. Taking a sip while walking back, he threw a quick glance towards the apartment door - a habit he had recently developed, making sure that the chains were really gone. But this time it made him stop dead in his tracks, the glass slipping through his fingers and breaking on the floor.

There was something stuck under the door.

He stared at it, not taking his eyes off of the slip of paper, his heart pounding in his ears. For a short moment it seemed to turn red, covered with blood and rust and God knew what else. His breathing came out in rapid pants as he neared the door, crouching down to pick the slip up with a shaky hand. It was small, the size of the business card maybe, with a handwritten message on it:

_Sorry about earlier, I didn't mean to corner you. Please consider calling me should you ever feel up for an informal talk._

Following a hunch, Henry turned the slip over only to have his suspicion confirmed. It was a business card, with the name _Brandon Perkins_ written in large letters above a phone number. Grimacing, he threw the card against the wall. "Damn it!" He turned his back to the door, sliding down it until he sat on the floor, his head resting in his hands. For a moment he had been back there. For a moment he had been anticipating another message from Jospeh, warning him that the nightmare wasn't over yet.

Oh God, he desperately needed a drink...

---Chapter 2 end---

_ A/N: Thank you for the reviews! I'm glad to hear that the story has caught your interest :) *happy*_


	4. Dreamdiary 2

**Dreamdiary 02**

It was very hazy, I could only just make out the endless stairway he was sitting on, in this mix of gray and white nothingness.  
I sat down next to him, and when that heavy silence started to bug me after a few minutes I asked him if he'd feel like talking about anything, since there wasn't much else to do.

He began telling me about his life, his desires, his fears.  
I just sat there and listened to him.

After a while he finally averted his eyes from the Nothingness in front of us and looked at me for the first time.  
"I wish I would've met someone who lends me an ear earlier",  
he said with such a sad smile.  
"But at least this last dream... my last memory, is a good one."

When I asked him why he thought it was his last, his wrists were suddenly bleeding and bleeding.

Everything faded away then, even the stairs.

* * *

_I tend to be drawn into dreams from people and places that are radiating an intense amount of energy, giving off a certain "vibe". The more intense the Vibe is, the more detailed and frequent are the dreams of others I share._

_This was the first time the dream around me just faded away, instead of having me wake up at some point._

_It's kinda scary to think of the possibility of maybe having dreamed some person's dying moment…_

_

* * *

_

_A/N: Another "filler", whee~ :D *still has to write the next chapter* (And maybe reconsider some parts of the story... I had a sudden idea for another minor original character.. it wouldn't really change anything in the main plot, but it might bring some additional scenes... Hm, well, we will see.)_

_Nanone:__ Thank you for the review! I'll try my best to be somewhat quick about it~_

_Carneeval: Ain't he? D:*pats poor Henry on the back* Think so..? (regarding the reporter) ;)  
_


	5. Chapter 3

**DayMare 03**

Alice decided to head back to the hotel. After she had parted ways with her cousin not a whole two hours ago, she had gotten a few things from her hotel room and gone out again to explore the town a bit. She didn't head out too far though, not wanting to get lost and saving a visit to the downtown area for another day, in favor of exploring it together with Henry. There hadn't been anything of real interest on her way though, so she had quickly become bored. She only hoped the downtown area was more exciting, or else she might be in for a very boring short vacation here with only the hotel to stay at, as her cousin didn't seem to be in the best of moods to keep her entertained at the moment...

Finishing some ice-cream on her way back, she spotted the sign of her hotel above some roofs when she turned a corner and let her shoulders sag in relief at not having taken a wrong way somewhere. Sure, she could always ask some passerby for directions, but it just felt better not having the need to in the first place. Being lost wasn't exactly a feeling she liked.

After crossing a street, the short haired girl found herself standing in front of a small, shadowed alley between the hotel and another building. It was that kind of dirty alley that she'd avoid at later hours when it was dark, with no lamps to light the way between the high stone walls, which were decorated only by a few small windows and a backdoor next to ladder that led to the hotel's roof. Right now it was only early afternoon though, and a very sunny one at that, so Alice had no qualms about taking the shortcut, only passing trash cans and a discarded cardboard box in the otherwise empty alley.

Until she passed the ladder midway.

Her feet stopped on their own accord, as if being pulled to a stop by some unseen force from behind. She froze when all of the sudden it felt as if the air was pressed out of her lungs - again. A strange static like noise seemed to grow in her ears, the edges of her vision turning black. The half eaten ice-cream cone slipped through her fingers, and the sensation as well as the soft thud when it hit the ground caused her to blink, a heavy pant escaping her lips. Still blinking for a few seconds, she braught the breath, that she had unconsciously been holding, back under control and looked around. Nothing seemed amiss and she was still alone in the alley. Her eyes turned to the ice cream cone lying on the ground, and only then did she realize that her hand was still raised in the position in wich she had been holding it. She frowned. What the hell was that? It had felt similar to that moment at Henry's apartment yesterday...

Shaking her head Alice slowly continued on her way, feeling oddly... exhausted. Not very much, but still enough to make her feel as if she had been walking around the town for several hours more than she actually did. _'Weird.'_ Was that what a circulatory collapse felt like? She had heard people describing it with similar aspects, like the static in the ears and the vision darkening... But that ususally came with a cause, like overexertion and the likes, right? It also couldn't be that she didn't have enough sugar in her blood circulation, seeing as she'd had quite a full breakfast and ice-cream only a few mintues ago...

_'Well, this doesn't make any sense'_, she decided. She'd have to ask someone about that. Maybe even see a doctor when she was back home for the rest of her semester break, she told herself, should something like that happen again. Even though she didn't feel in any actual bad health...

The mild spring sunlight fell on her face when she left the alley again, lighting some of her dark hair with a bronze shine. Alice made her way to the hotel entrance, and after greeting the receptionist with a polite "Hello", she rode the elevator up to the second floor. Arriving in her room, she dropped her shoulder bag unceremoniously on the carpet and took of her short leather boots, before collapsing into the bed. There she lay sprawled for a few minutes, before reaching for the remote control on the nightstand and turning the TV on. No program really caught her interest, though, and so she kept zapping through the channels for a while until she finally stopped at some documentary. It didn't take long for the rather boring program and the odd exhaustion to catch up with her, causing her eyelids to grow heavy, and so she soon drifted off into sleep.

* * *

_'Damn that old man.'_ Brandon Perkins was in a rather sour mood, after having been forced out of the building while trying to get some information out of that Townshend guy. And damn, he just _knew_ he had almost gotten to that point - if only that old geezer hadn't interfered.

But at least he now knew that his line of questioning had gone in the right direction towards the end.

He was close to it. He knew it.

The young freelancer couldn't wait to finally find out just what kind of information Schreiber had stumbled upon to make him disappear, never to be seen again. Ever since Brandon started taking an interest journalism, he had respected the work of the mysterious "J". A journalist who was brave enough to tell the truth to the world, no matter how dirty or even dangerous the background of it might be. And with the man taking more and more interest into that cult towards the end of his activity, he had raised quite the scandalous rumors with his research about an orphanage. What was with that cult in Silent Hill, anyway? Brandon had heard a few more rumors about it from other sources as well. But the rumors about that orphanage had seemed to die down over the last few years, especially after J's disappearance. Yet he refused to believe that it simply stopped its activity. If that cult had the resources to make a known journalist disappear, it sure as hell also had resources to keep their activity going on in the dark.

And he was hell-bent to find out just what had happened to Schreiber and expose the reason for his disappearance to the world.

As macabre as it might sound, he was glad about the recent copy-cat murders going on in South Ashfield. Not only did they draw his interest into researching the original murders of that serial killer, who just happened to be related to the orphanage run by the cult in Silent Hill, as Brandon had found out by researching the killer's background. No, it even led him to South Ashfield Heights where the recent murders had occurred - and where Jospeh "J" Schreiber had lived until he vanished from the face of the earth, as his research of old newspaper articles concerning the area had revealed.

And now one man seemed to be standing in relation to it all; Henry Townshend.

The man who lived in the very same apartment Schreiber had lived in befoe.

The man who seemingly survived an attack of the copy-cat killer, when trying to stop his escape after killing the last and most recent victim, that Galvin woman - who had lived next door. Or at least that was what they said.

It was too bad the woman had died of her injuries in the hospital... As far as Brandon knew, she had already been living there when Schreiber had lived in the apartment next to her. She had most probably known him, and maybe even known something about his disappearance, considering that she had been killed now...

Oh well, he was going to find it out eventually, anyway.

And there came the young woman to mind, that he had seen earlier with Townshend. He was very curious to find out who she was and what she was doing here so shortly after the series of murders. If he was right, she was staying at the hotel opposite from South Ashfield Heights, where he had seen her head to. Maybe she would be a bit more chatty than Townshend?

* * *

Alice took a look around. It was dark, above her the starry sky pointed towards it being late in the night. It took her a few seconds, but she soon recognized the high stonewalls as belonging to the alley she had went through earlier. Well, it was certainly strange to be back here so soon in a dream... But maybe, it came to her mind, it was one of her own, considering that she would have a reason for her subconsciousness to conjure the place up, after having experienced that weird moment in there. She _had_ been a bit frightened there for a second....

Hearing rustling behind her, she turned around and spotted a sole dark figure, huddled against the wall opposite from the hotel building. Oh. Well, maybe it wasn't her own dream after all. Come to think of it, she could have guessed that in the beginning, since she didn't see herself in third person view, as was usually the case in her own dreams, as far as she could tell. "Usually" being the key word.

Deciding to let her thoughts be for the moment, she approached the person slowly, passing the lone cardboard box and trash cans she had seen earlier - only to stop dead in her tracks when she was close enough to get a better view of the person, with some of the light from the street at the end of the alley filtering through. It was a young man, wearing sporty looking clothing, his eyes shadowed under a dark beanie. But what had her rooted to the spot was the blood covering the very pale looking skin around the lower part of his face.

She hesitated for a few moments, nervously taking in the scene in front of her, before leaning forward ever so slightly. "Hey... you okay?" The second the words had left her mouth, she could have slapped herself. What a stupid thing to ask an obviously bleeding person... But then again, she couldn't think of anything better to say right then.

The man raised his head a bit, not enough to have the shadows lift from around his eyes, but she could tell he was looking at her. Nothing happened for a few seconds, until he raised his hand very slowly towards her. At first she had wanted to jump back, thinking he migh want to grab her, but he had simply kept his arm stretched out towards her. In the movement the fabric of his jacket glistened oddly in the faint light around his middle section. Alice wondered if there was blood on it, too.

He pointed a pale index finger at her, not stretching it completely, probably not able to, considering how sluggish his movements were in general. His blood caked lips parted. "I... saw... God..." She was barely able to hear the quiet, rough words escaping his mouth. It sounded as if his throat hadn't seen any fluids in days. Alice frowned at him, wondering what the hell was making that guy say that while pointing at her. That was, until he lifted his arm a bit more, his finger pointing at a place somewhere above her. Alice turned around then and noticed that she had been standing in front of the ladder leading up to the roof of the hotel. Behind her, a single "God..." escaped the man's dry throat again, but when she looked back to him, there was only empty space where he had been sitting only seconds before. _'Where did he go?'_ She turned her head once again to the ladder, just in time to catch sight of the man climbing it up quickly, his movements anything but sluggish then, and disappearing on the roof.

Okay, she was starting to feel seriously creeped out now.

Alice stood there, alone in the dark alley, wondering what to do. The dream didn't let her go, so she supposed he wanted to show her something up there...

Taking a deep breath and gathering her courage, she grasped one of the steel rungs and began climbing the ladder. When there were only few rungs left and Alice able to look over the edge of the roof, her eyes landed on a pair of dark, worn looking shoes, partly covered by the ends of light slacks, that were right in front of her face.

She gasped, her body suddenly freezing up yet again when she was about to look up, trying to see more of the person standing in front of her. The same feeling of the air leaving her lungs from before when she had passed that ladder overcame her, her heart pounding wildly in her chest. She was trying to call for help, when everything started to become one big blur in front of her eyes and she tried her best to get away from there, let go of the ladder, anything, just to make it stop.

Alice found herself sitting upright in bed, the TV filling the hotel room with voices. She was breathing hard, sweat making her clothes cling to her body. Slowly her breathing came easier again, the pounding in her chest slowing down. Well, that had definately been one of the more memorable dreams. Though the fact that another of these "episodes" with her body's strange reactions appeared also in the dream had her frowning at her legs.

She gazed numbly at the TV screen, not really taking in what it was showing at first, her thoughts only slowly coming back into order. But when they did, she registered that the news were being on, and right at that moment South Ashfield was mentioned in the headline. Curious, she looked for the remote control, spotting it lying at the edge of the bed, before taking it and turning up the volume.

_"...of her injuries. The police is still looking for the culprit behind the series of murders that occured around an apartment complex in South Ashfield, trying to draw connections between the single cases. As of yet it seems there hasn't been made further progress. And now the sports news. Yesterday's match of--"_

Alice turned the TV off, thinking the news over. A whole series of murders? _'Seems like Ashfield isn't that quiet a town as Henry first made it appear to be...'_ Seriously, first that neighbour of his, now these murders--

Alice looked up at the dark screen of the TV, a sinking feeling overcoming her. '_Wait, his neighbour? And those murders occured around an apartment complex...?_' If she had only heard when they happened... It would sort of explain why that neighbour's death seemed to bother Henry so much, if she was murdered instead of dieing in an accident or something... Even though Alice had to admit that it was a bit far fetched to bring these two events into relation, simply because they took place in an apartment complex and Henry happened to live in one. Well, she'd just have to find out when exactly these murders occured and if it was around the same time the neighbour had died. Maybe she could find some old newspapers or something, it wasn't like she could go to Henry and simply ask, _"Hey, so, your neighbour got murdered by a serial killer, or what?"_ - she wasn't _that_ tactless.

But she had promised herself to find out what happened to make Henry so withdrawn, and she would see it through.

Now she had to get another shower first, though - damn that creepy dream for making her all sweaty - and then call Henry and see if he was up to eating out before going to the movies, she was starting to feel hungry. And maybe see if she could sort out some of all the weird happenings while the hot shower cleared her jumbled mind a bit.

* * *

The late afternoon sun was bathing his cramped office in a golden light. He rubbed the bridge of his nose wearily, setting his coffe mug on some of the papers literally covering his desk. The damn press made them look like a bunch of greenhorns, still not able to figure out the mystery behind the copy-cat murders with several days having already passed. In fact, they hadn't made any progress at all, and it looked like that wouldn't change, if they continued using the methods the Chief insisted on.

If it were up to him, he would go for that Townshend guy again. Because, seriously, did they really believe he went after the killer to stop his escape from the Galvin-scene without being killed for seeing the culprit? The killer surely couldn't have been in such a rush to get away from the scene, to simply leave Townshend behind, unconscious. It had been too good an opportunity to simply kill him, so he wasn't in danger of being identified.

And the blows Townshend took couldn't have been that bad after all, if he still remembered hearing the Galvin woman scream and having a scuffle with the killer. But for anything else his mind went blank? No memory of how the man looked like, even just simple things like his height, or the color of his skin and hair? Yeah, _right_. Even if the police psychologist on-site deduced the blackouts to be the result of some kind of traumatic shock, or whatever she had said it was, he just didn't buy it. Which was one of the reason they were ordered to give the man some days to recover. He might not have been a detective for as long as some others here, but he _knew_ when something was off about a case or a person. And there was definately something off about that Townshend guy.

The only problem was, that there hadn't been any kind of fingerpints or DNA-evidence pointing towards Townshend. But then again, there hadn't been any kind of evidence at all, for that matter. Simons was right about that one, it certainly made it look like the victims were killed by a ghost, as much as he hated to admit that.

Nor had there been any evidence on Townshend, either. No hairs, nor fibers, nothing. And that even though he'd supposedly had a scuffle with the killer.

No, if it were up to him, Detective Miller would instantly turn his investigations against Henry Townshend. The man had to be either an accomplice - or even the killer himself. He was sure of that. Though there also seemed to be something off about that older superintendent, what with those odd remarks he made... But then again, maybe it was just senile talk. Still, couldn't hurt to keep an eye on that one, too.

Miller wondered if enough days had passed to give Townshend the needed time to "recover", so he could be up for another chat...

---Chapter 3 end---

* * *

_A/N: Whew, finally a new chapter. And I actually managed to write it in only two goes :D As you have probably noticed, I decided to include the new minor character into the story - now have a guess as to who that might be... x)_

_And once again, thanks for the reviews and for reading this! But especially for the feedback in the reviews, hehe ;D_


	6. Chapter 4

**DayMare 04**

After Alice had showered and called Henry to arrange when they would meet, she put on some fresh clothes - still a bit miffed that her earlier outfit had been soaked with sweat, her black tank top hanging to dry in the small en suite after hand washing it - and got down to the hotel lobby, where they had agreed to meet. She was a bit early, but since she didn't have anything better to do in her room, she thought she might as well wait downstairs where there was at least a bit of activity to watch - or not, as she realized when she arrived in the as good as empty lobby. The only persons beside her were the receptionist staring boredly at a computer screen behind the counter he sat at - probably doing something not work related, she assumed - and a young man leaning against the wall near the entrance, hands in the pockets of his dark jeans and a messenger bag slung across his shoulder, resting on the side of his lower back, the same way she wore hers.

She took a seat in one of the small sofas decorating the simple, yet cosy looking lobby, choosing it for the clear view of the entrance she had there. Stifling a yawn, she looked outside the glass doors, wondering how long it would take Henry to get ready and come over. When she had called him earlier, he had sounded kinda absentminded... Had she maybe interrupted him at something? But they had made plans for the evening, so she didn't think he'd start doing anything big that would get in the way. Plus he'd had some time to finish whatever he was doing while she had taken a shower, so he should be getting her soon. _'He better should be, I'm starting to get really hungry...'_ Another yawn escaped her before she could stifle it this time. _'And tired. Man, seems like that creepy dream took any rest out of the short nap...'_

Thinking of the nightmare braught some uneasiness back. It was confusing enough that she had been mislead into shortly thinking it was her own dream at the beginning. She was usually quicker to realize the state of a dream, but this one had confused her with its detailed _feeling_. When she shared another person's dream, it was usually kind of like watching an interactive movie. But in this one she had felt a light breeze on her skin, caught a whiff of the waste from the nearby trash, felt the cold metal under her fingers as she climbed up that ladder... Physical aspects like these were usually limited to a few of her _own_ dreams. The Vibe some place - or someone - was giving off, must have been _huge_ to create such an intensity...

This town was starting to get more and more bizarre. First those murders, and then people giving off enough energy to pull her repeatedly into the same dreams or some of their nightmares...

Then again; the nightmare just now might have been a coincidence, now that she thought about it. It seemed like something might have happened in that alley next to the hotel, maybe creating one of these few rare "energy spots" - as she had come to name them and which she had run into very few times over the years - and since she was currently residing in here, it was no wonder some of the vibes it gave off were starting to rub off on her. Especially since she had even walked right through the alley. So that would explain some of the intensity... And thinking back to how the person in the nightmare had looked like, it seemed to have been bad enough to leave quite the imprint. She might even go so far as to assume that someone might have died ther- _'Whoa - what if it was one of those murders going on here?'_

Now, _that_ was a creepy thought.

If it was recent it would even more explain the intensi-

"Mind if I join you?"

Pulled out of her musings, Alice blinked up a bit startled to where the voice came from. The man she had seen standing near the entrance earlier was standing a bit to her side, his hand resting on top of the backrest of the sofa next to her. His dark eyebrows were raised and he had a small polite yet uncertain smile on his lips. She had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she hadn't even noticed him approaching her. Still a bit caught off guard, her first reaction was to shake her head and reply with an, "Oh, no, go ahead".

The man thanked her and took a seat on the sofa. No more than a few seconds passed in silence until he spoke again. "Looks quite boring, sitting here all alone..."

Alice couldn't hold back a small smile. Could that be an attempt to start a flirt? "I'm actually waiting for someone", she replied.

Her opposite nodded with another smile, as if he hadn't expected any different answer. "Of course, it would have been strange for a young lady like you to stay all alone in a hotel."

_'Lady'? _Yup, definately a flirt. Alice tried to hide her amusement, until the man continued.

"You don't happen to be waiting for Henry, do you?"

Unlike her previous amusement, she didn't bother hiding her surprise. "How did you know...?"

"Pardon my straightforwardness, I saw you two together earlier and when I saw you again sitting here, I just couldn't help my curiosity... I'm Brandon, by the way, I'm an acquaintance of Henry."

He held his hand out and Alice shook it.

"Alice. I'm his cousin."

"Well, pleased to meet you, Alice. He should have told me that he has such pretty relatives around..."

She raised an eyebrow in an amused way. _'He couldn't possibly lay it on any thicker...' _But at least she had something to fill her time with until Henry arrived. "I think I actually rather surprised him with my visit, so..."

Brandon's previously mischievous expression suddenly sobered a bit. "I see... So, what made you visit him at a time like this? Not some morbid curiosity about those murders, I hope. It would be unbecoming for a nice looking girl like you..."

"Murders...?" Alice frowned in confusion, until she remembered. "Oh, you mean those serial cases? I actually only heard about them on today's news."

Now it was his turn to look surprised. "Oh... so you didn't mean to check on him?"

"What do you mean?"

Brandon seemed to be thinking about something, looking past her through the windows of the glass door. He was about to say something, but then seemed to think better of it. "Never mind."

Her curiosity piqued, she decided to ignore his comment for the moment in favor of asking, "So you've heard about them, too?"

A constrained smile appeared on his lips. "You can't _not_ hear about them in this town..."

"I see... So... they happened in this very district, as far as I know?"

"Yes, it's been all over the newspapers."

Alice just couldn't help asking, "Did one of them also happen in this hotel, or around the building?"

Brandon gave her an odd look. "Not that I know of, no... Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering, since I'm staying here and all... would be kinda creepy", she smiled in reply, trying to hide her disappointment. _'There goes my theory that the man in the nightmare might have been one of the victims...'_

"So morbid curiosity after all, huh?"

"Ahh, that's not how I-... I mean... well...", Alice trailed off, fighting a blush. That was some great first impression she made there on someone she had just met - again. Seemed like it was a bad talent of hers that she wouldn't get rid off so quickly.

To her relief, Brandon looked to be rather amused than offended. He averted his face from her, looking through the glass door again, his face suddenly sobering. A few seconds past in awkward silence, until he took a quick look on his wristwatch and stood up. "I'm sorry, but I gotta go... Maybe I'll see you around?"

Alice blinked, surprised about the abrupt change of attitude. "Yeah... bye then."

She watched him leave, the glass door falling shut behind him. _'Well, what was that about?' _Replaying the conversation in her mind, she found herself frowning at the closed glass door. Why would that guy think she'd check on Henry...? Well, okay, that was exactly what she was doing, but how did he know...? Maybe Henry really was involved in this somehow? Maybe she was right about his neighbour, at least?

Alice didn't have much time to continue that line of thought, as the glass door swung open again, distracting her when she saw Henry entering the hotel, while craning his neck and looking at something outside. _'Finally!' _She stood up and walked to him, a smile and teasing lecture on her lips, until she noticed the displeased look on his face when he turned towards her. "Did he harass you in any way?"

Alice stopped in front of him, a frown on her face again. "Who, Brandon?" Was that what Henry had just been looking after? "Nah. Why should he...? I mean, he's an acquaintance of yours, isn't he?"

"He's not an acquaintance!"

His slightly raised voice caused the receptionist behind the counter next to them to look up from his computer. Taken aback by his attitude, Alice raised her eyebrows. "Okay, if you say so..."

Henry seemed to remember himself and calmed down again.

"Why did you ask?"

He stared at her in silence for a moment until he turned towards the door. "Never mind. Let's go to the car."

_'What, is it "tell Alice she doesn't have to mind"-day, or what?' _ Alice tried to quash the upcoming frustration. It would be stupid to get worked up because she was being kept in the dark about something that was probably very personal anyway. And this was supposed to be a fun evening spent with her cousin, she didn't want to spoil it when it hadn't even begun yet.

They left the hotel and went across the street, entering the inner yard of Henry's apartment complex. There were a few cars parked at a designated area, and they stopped in front of her cousin's dark grey SUV. Henry unlocked the doors and they got into the car. Alice was fastening her seat belt, when her eyes fell on Henry's right hand loosening the parking brake. There was a band-aid on his forefinger that hadn't been there earlier in the day. Noticing a bloodstain showing underneath it, she took his hand in hers without further thought, scrutinizing the dark stain. "Man, you must have cut yourself deeply..." She looked up to his face without letting go. "What happened?"

"It's nothing, I'm fine." Henry pulled his hand out of her grasp and started the engine.

Alice furrowed her brow when she thought to have caught a faint whiff of something like whiskey coming from him. _'Since when would Henry drink during the day? And without a reason? ...And especially when he's planing on driving a car!'_ Her frown deepened. "Are you sure you want to drive-..."

"I told you I'm fine. It's no big deal, I just cut myself while clearing away a broken glass."

Alice remained silent about not meaning the cut. Maybe she had only imagined it, anyway...

The next few minutes passed in silence, while Henry drove as careful as always, which calmed Alice again. Really, it had been stupid to think something like that of him...

When she sneaked another glance on his hand, the stain had grown slightly bigger. Looking at it, she suddenly remembered the other, bigger band-aid on his forearm, her eyes travling the way from his fingers up to it. It had already been there last evening when she arrived, but with everything that had happened, she had forgotten about it. The skin around it was still covered in dark bruises and scratches, making her wonder how fresh the injury was. Hesitantly, she decided to simply ask. "So... seems like you get hurt a lot these days..." No response. She tried a more direct approach. "What happened to your arm?"

"As I said, it's no big deal." Henry's voice sounded sort of strained.

She tried still. "Well, I would call something of that size and bruised like that a rather big deal-"

He startled her into silence by hitting the steering wheel with his palm. "It's nothing, okay!"

His younger cousin stared at him, stunned by the small outburst and his raised voice. _'Who is this stranger...?'_

Several minutes passed in heavy silence. As they stopped at a red light, Henry sighed deeply. "Look, I'm sorry. I've just been under a lot of stress lately... I didn't mean to get loud."

"I... it's okay. I shouldn't be so nosy, I guess. It's just that... well..." She ran her fingers through her short hair in an agitated manner. "What is going on, Henry?" She looked at his profile with a serious and worried face. "First we can't get in touch with you over days, then I come here and there seems to be something... off about you. You tell me that a befriended neighbour of yours died and I hear about some weird serial murders going on."

Henry's eyes widened while he kept his face towards the street.

"Then there comes this guy along, which you claim is _not_ an acquaintance of yours, asking me if I was here to check on you. I just can't help but wonder if it isn't all connected somehow..."

Henry's face became a blank mask, only his widened eyes showing any reaction to Alice' words. He kept staring unseeing ahead, until a car horn hooted behind them, pulling him out of his panicked stupor. The traffic light was green. Henry blinked and moved off.

Silence ensued again. Alice noticed her cousin clenching his jaws together tightly, his stony face kept firmly towards the street. Tension was virtually radiating off him. She remembered his earlier words, that he was under a lot of stress, and started to feel bad about the sudden confrontation. Maybe she shouldn't have started about it... or at least not head-on like that.

"Listen, Henry... I don't mean to force you into telling me anything. Hell, I would never. Just... if there's something that's bothering you so much, why suffer through it alone? I mean..." She sighed. "You now you can talk to me, right? Just... just go ahead, when you feel up to it. If there's anything I can do to help you, I want you to let me know. Don't suffer all by yourself."

Worry was plainly written on her face.

Judging by their busy surroundings, they had arrived dowtown, and Henry pulled the car into the first free parking spot he spotted. He turned off the engine, and for a few seconds they simply sat like that in the car. Finally, his jaws relaxed again, though his brow was furrowed. "I don't think I could talk about it with anyone right now... I'm sorry. I just can't."

"...It's okay. Just promise me you will talk about it, when you feel you might be up to it, or if it seems to become too much to hold back... don't let it eat at you."

It had always been like that. Sometimes one just had to help him along to unburden himself, give him a nudge. It had often been that way when he'd had a fight with his father. And if he still didn't feel like talking about it... well, then it must have been really bad and she wouldn't force him.

Henry smiled weakly at her. "Thanks. I will - some day."

They exited the car with a silent agreement not to mention the subject again for the time being. Henry led Alice to a restaurant - Chinese, this time - before they would go to the movies. Alice had almost lost her appetite after the tense drive, but her emtpy stomach made up for it. While having their dinner, they decided on what movie they were going to see. It ended up being some action movie with shots of comedy in between. Both had avoided anything drama themed, thinking it would have been a bad idea after what had just happened. Henry was inwardly just glad Alice hadn't suggested anything horror themed.

When they were driving back after the movie, the mood between them was lighter again. Henry parked his SUV at the same spot it had been standing at before and turned the engine off. "Well... it has definately been a while since I had such an enjoyable evening. Thank you." He smiled at his younger cousin.

"Why, Henry," Alice smiled back teasingly, "it almost sounds like you're thanking me for a successful first date."

Henry actually blushed at that statement, making her grin.

"Do I really come across that introverted?"

"Just a bit", Alice teased. "But you're quite welcome, the pleasure is all mine. And who is to say that it already has to end here?"

Henry blinked at her questioningly.

She just couldn't help adding in a low voice, "Want to join me in the hotel?"

The look on his face caused her to burst out laughing, slapping him playfully on the shoulder. "Henry!", she laughed, "I'm just having you on, relax!"

His expression changed from bewildered to amused. He shook his head, smiling. "It's been too long, I'm not used to your teasing anymore."

"Oh, admit it! You just haven't been with anyone for too long!"

He raised his eyebrows in a haughty manner. "Are you implying that I don't have the charm?"

Alice smirked at him cheekily. "No, I'm implying that you're acting too shy."

That was what she had missed since she had come visiting Henry. For the first time he seemed to be finally acting more like his old self again, the way she knew him. Having been told it was okay not to tell her what had happened until he was ready, and taking his mind off things seemed to be doing him a world of good. He looked and acted more relaxed.

"All teasing aside; d'you want to come up with me and chat a bit?"

He seemed to be hesitating, thinking about something. But eventually he nodded with a smile. They exited the car and went across the street to the hotel together.

They spent about three hours sitting cross-legged on her bed, catching up more intently on what they had been up to since their last meeting, telling stories about friends and co-workers and so on. They had also made plans for the next day, Alice finally asking her cousin to show her around the town, which he agreed to.

Alice had been yawning constantly for the past fifteen minutes, her eyes having grown heavy. Henry took that as his cue and put his shoes on. "I guess it's time for me to leave. We should rest soon anway, if we don't want to start our little tour too late tomorrow."

"Yeah, sorry... I don't know why I'm so tired this early, I even had a nap before we went out..."

Having finished putting his shoes on, Henry stood up and smiled at her. "Don't worry about it. And it's not that early anymore, anyway."

Alice looked at the time on her mobile phone. He was right, it was half past midnight. For her standards still rather early, though. She got up as well and gave him a hug in the door, Henry bidding her a good night. She waited until he disappeared around a corner before closing the door and changing for the night.

Looking forward to spending the day with a more relaxed and upbeat Henry tomorrow, Alice fell asleep quickly.

-Chapter 4 end-

_A/N: Oh my, looks like you got the first taste of those "motivation-holes" I had mentioned in the first chapter... RL has been kinda busy, as well. Sorry 'bout that._  
_Thank you for still reading this fanfic despite the slow updating~_  
_And an extra big thank you for the reviews! Reading them fills me with a silly kind of happiness~ x)_

_Ah, and this time I'm too lazy to fix FFnet's paragraphs... I hope they don't make this chapter difficult to read :0_


	7. Chapter 5

**DayMare 05**

The smell of blood and decay lay heavily in the air. A red haze seemed to cover everything around him, like a filter put over a photo or movie. Slowly his eyes adjusted to it and when he took in his surroundings, a sinking feeling overcame him.  
He remembered this place.  
He remembered waking up in it once before, floating in the air with his arms wrapped around his legs - like some astronaut curled up into a ball - before gravity returned, connecting his feet with the ground.  
He remembered walking through the only exit in the otherwise empty round room - the same way he did now.  
Remembered seeing that terrifying mincing machine in the center of a puddle of dark blood, the dangerous looking spiked blades rotating around each other - the same way they did now.

And there she was, standing on a walkway leading towards the machine, morbidly reminiscent of a model on a catwalk, with her broken body and empty eyes.  
A faint smile played around the corners of his mouth, relief flooding his body.

She was alive.  
He could still save her.

But just when he was about to run to her, _he_ stepped into his line of sight.  
Dirty blonde greasy hair brushing shoulders covered in a blue rain coat, darkened by blood stains in several places._  
He_ was smiling.

Then suddenly he heard her scream - gurgled, cut off - followed by horrifying sounds of crushing bones and tearing flesh.

He was too late.  
Again.

His world started to spin.  
She was gone.  
He had failed her again, let her die.

_He had let her die._

And suddenly there was the axe in his hand, and there was more tearing flesh and splattering blood. He became aware of being the only one standing now, and when he lowered his eyes, he saw _him_ lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood._  
He_ was still smiling.  
A hand reached out searchingly into the air, meeting nothing but emptiness._  
He_ gasped, drawing breath to utter one last word; _"Mom..."_

And with the thud of his lifeless hand meeting the ground, _he_ was gone.

The world itself seemed to come to a standstill, when all of the sudden a stabbing pain flashed through his head, starting just behind his eyes and spreading through his whole skull, blackening his vision for a moment. When the pain eased into just a throbbing behind his eyes, he found himself kneeling on the ground, the axe discarded in favor of pressing his hands against his hurting head in an instinctive try to reduce the pain. Removing his hands again slowly, he opened his eyes. The ground in front of him was bare, except for a dark pool of blood. A pool caused by a body that was no longer lying in it. He stood up, taking a look around him. The machine had stopped rotating, the only thing keeping him company now was an unnatural kind of silence.

_He_ was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

A loud gasp sounded through the dark apartment coming from the only bedroom. Henry sat up in his bed, panting heavily, sweat covering his brow. He looked around frantically, making sure he was really in his bed, that the walls weren't covered in blood or rust and weirdly shaped cracks. Only slowly did his breathing return to normal, his heartbeat slowing. He ran a hand through his sweaty hair, taking a deep, calming breath.

It had felt so real. As if he had been really back, reliving that horrible moment. Only that instead of leaving Walter's dead body behind and finding a way back into the recently still unknown hidden room in his apartment, he had stayed behind while Walter's body disappeared. And the ground hadn't been shaking like he remembered when he had escaped that nightmarish world. He even recalled parts of the ceiling falling down when he had looked back for a last time, before crawling through a final tunnel leading back to reality. But in that dream now it had been eerily quiet, no ground shaking whatsoever.

Damn, and just when he had fallen asleep in good spirits for the first time in days, looking forward to the next one.

Henry massaged the bridge of his nose wearily, a dull pain still throbbing faintly behind his eyes. It was probably just an after-effect of the dream, his overactive imagination creating the illusion. Still, it unsettled him. It reminded him too much of the throbbing headaches he had gotten around the ghosts and hauntings...

The brown-haired man got up and walked out of the bedroom, turning on the lights on his way - the sun had yet to rise. Turning his head towards the front door to make sure it was unchained, he passed the entry area and made his way to the kitchen. Getting a painkiller and a glass out of the cupboards, he filled it with water, swallowed the pill and drank the water in one go. Having put the glass down again, he spread his arms over the edge of the sink and propped his upper body against it, head lowered between his shoulders.

Something felt not right. He wasn't sure if it was the heavy atmosphere inside the apartment that didn't go away, no matter what he tried, or maybe just the fact that he still hadn't gotten to closing up the hole in the wall. But something seemed to be lingering in the very air in 302, trying to suffocate him, yet letting him breath freely at the same time. He recalled the way even Alice had stiffened when she had entered the apartment. And now that throbbing pain following the dream...

His shoulders tensed.  
What if he had missed something, overlooked a warning?

Henry moved from the kitchen to the living room, kneeling down in front of a few cardboard boxes in a corner. He pulled the backmost box towards him and hesitated for a moment, before ripping open the tape that held the box closed and lifting the lids. His dirt and blood stained, once off-white button-down shirt lay on the top, hiding the other contents underneath it. He had considered getting rid of the blood in the bathtub once, but in the end it had reminded him too much of Andrew's shirt, the numbers it had revealed... He hadn't thought about washing it again after that. Henry pulled the shirt out, placing it over the egde of the box. And there, lying on top of his just as filthy jeans, next to a last remaining Saint Medallion, was his scrapbook. Taking it out with a shaky hand, careful so as to not drop one of the loose notes stuck in between the pages, he went to the couch and sat down.

The scrapbook lay closed in his lap for several moments, his grayish-green eyes glued to its simple cover, before he finally found the courage to open it, searching for anything he might have missed.

* * *

A thick layer of fog obscured her surroundings. But even so, it took her only a moment to recognize the wooden walls around her with the childish graffities on them; she was back in that weird dream - again. And this time the dream's owner was also there again, sitting on the small wooden steps in front of that strange, fenced in building, only just visible in the fog. Alice approached him at a leisurely pace, taking her time eyeing him up as the sight of him became clearer. The man still had the shoulder-length, dark blonde hair she remembered, wearing what looked like a blue raincoat. When she was only a few steps away from him, he raised his head slightly to look at her, with the ghost of a smile lifting the corners of his mouth. She could now see that he had a light stubble and quite intense eyes.

Having come close enough, she stopped, waiting for some kind of reaction from the man. She didn't have to wait for long until he opened his mouth to say something; "You came again."

That remark took her by surprise - so he had been aware of her previous visits?

She stood there for a few seconds, at a loss for a reply, before gesturing towards the empty spot next to him with a faint smile and asking, "Mind if I sit?". Since he didn't show any sign of protest, Alice took it as an "okay" and sat down on the topmost stair next to him. A few moments passed in silence, and Alice sneaked a peek on the man's profile. He was still smiling faintly, his eyes looking straight ahead. She almost startled when he suddenly commented with a soft voice, "I haven't seen you around here before." Only then did he turn his head to face her.

Her heartbeat calming again after the small startle response, Alice couldn't help chuckling at the oddity of the situation. "Do you experience stuff like this often, or are you some kind of 'city watcher'?", she smiled teasingly at him.

He stared at her silently, almost expectantly, as if he was waiting for some kind of answer to an unspoken question. His steady gaze and seemingly ever-present ghost of a smile unsettled her a bit, causing her smile to falter. She decided to simply respond to his last remark, hoping she guessed correctly at what he had meant. "It's my first time visiting this city, I'm here to see family."

"Family?"

"Yeah, my cousin", the dark-haired girl replied. "Though he's more like a big brother or best friend to me. Always has been, especially when we still lived in the same neighbourhood." She briefly wondered why she was telling him that, but shrugged it off again quickly. A bit of small talk couldn't hurt, now that she finally had the chance to talk to the dream's owner. Her curiosity about him and the reoccurring dreams in this place had grown quite a bit over the last few days. "How about you?"

"I'm also here to see family."

"Oh? And who?"

"My mother." The man's eyes were shining with his response, his smile seeming to widen.

Even though Alice had to wonder a little about that reaction, she thought that it was nice that someone still had such a good relationship with their parents. "Well, I think it's nice to see your family once in a while. I prefer spending my vacation here on my own, visiting my cousin, to going on a binge drinking tour with some fellow students. Seriously, this whole Spring Break Binge trend is as dumb as these fraternities. Just not my thing, you know." She realized she was rambling and decided on stopping here, lest she made a fool out of herself. She was probably already on her way to either annoy or bore him...

And yet the man surprised her by replying, "I also stayed away from those".

"You were at university, too?"

"Yes."

"Oh... what did you study?"

"Medicine."

Alice blinked. _'Well, I certainly wouldn't have expected _that_ by the look of him...'_ She tried not to let her surprise about his answer show. "So, what are you doing now? Are you a doctor?", she just couldn't help asking with another slightly teasing smile, fueled by her curiostiy.

There was a small pause, then he turned his face away, once more presenting his profile to her. "I think it's time for you to leave now."

Alice blinked again. "Wha-"

* * *

She opened her eyes, making out the ceiling lamp abover her. Sitting up, the young student took a confused look around her hotel room, searching for the cause of her waking up. Still a bit out of it, she realized that loud voices were coming from outside the window. Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, she stood up and went to it. A group of teenagers was passing the hotel, talking and laughing loudly. Alice watched them for a moment. _'Did they wake me up?'_ Then suddenly the man's last words resounded in her head; _"I think it's time for you to leave now."_

_'Or... could he have possibly forced me out of his dream by himself?'_ There had been times when she had felt very unwelcome in dreams, and she had never really stayed long in those, the connection quickly breaking. But never before had a dream ended so abruptly with her waking up without any apparent outside influences, or when she hadn't consciously tried to wake up. And when she also took into consideration that it had been the fourth time inside the same dream now... Could that man possibly have the same abilities as her? Did he also share other people's dreams, and was that why he pulled her so often into his?

Yawning, Alice stretched herself. She felt as if she hadn't slept a wink, even though the sun outside told her that it must be already late in the morning. Yawning again, she wearily made her way towards the en-suite bathroom.

-Chapter 5 end-

* * *

_A/N: Whoo, finally the 'Man in Dreams' makes an appearance ;D_  
_I'm sorry that this chapter turned out to be a bit shorter, but it seemed like a good point to end it._

_At Vampuric Spider: Thank you! I'm glad to hear you don't mind the detailed interactions with Alice, and hope you'll still like where this story is headed to :)_


	8. Chapter 6

**DayMare 06**

It was late in the morning when Henry finished doing the dishes that he had neglected the day before. He dried off a mug he had just cleaned and decided to pour himself another cup of coffee. After having read through all the contents of his scrapbook, he hadn't gone back to bed. He wouldn't have been able to fall asleep, anyway. Nothing he found in the scrapbook pointed towards something he had missed, so while he still had the feeling that something wasn't right, he was a bit calmer now. It was probably just his mind playing tricks on him.

He had just taken a sip from the coffee and sat down on the couch, when the phone in his bedroom rang. Setting the cup down, he looked at the clock - Alice was up earlier than he had expected. Getting up again, the brunette man went to get the phone. Arriving in his small bedroom, he picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Mr. Townshend? This is Detective Miller from the Ashfield Police Department speaking."

Swallowing nervously, Henry sat down on the bed.

* * *

"Here you go."

Henry averted his eyes from the window to look at the plastic cup being put down in front of him on the table. He had been sitting in this office for almost half an hour now, so when a policewoman asked him if he'd like something to drink, he agreed, if just to have something to divert his thoughts with. He was so tense by now, though, that he didn't really feel like touching the water given to him. He just wanted to get this over with as fast as possible. When that detective had called him earlier, he had explained that they wanted to find out if he might remember more, now that he should have calmed down again from the initial shock. He had agreed rather readily, hoping it would get the police off his back as soon as possible.

"We're sorry for making you wait, the detectives should be finished very soon with the meeting."

Henry nodded at the police officer, hoping she was right. And just as she was about to leave the office again, two persons could be seen standing in front of the door through its upper glass part. The door was opened by a bulky, balding man that Henry remembered talking to the day he had escaped that hellish nightmare. He was followed by another man, this one slimmer with unruly dirty blonde hair and a stubble that was rivaling Henry's own.

The balding man made his way towards Henry, shaking his hand while sitting down on a chair opposite him. "Hello again Mr. Townshend. I don't know if you remember me, we had a brief talk the day when your neighbour was found. I'm Detective Simons, and this is my partner Detective Miller." He gestured towards the blonde man, who also sat down.

Henry nodded, "I do." He thought he remembered Miller having been there, too.

"Well then", Simons began, "please tell us what happened on that particular day again."

* * *

Alice closed the flap of her mobile phone with a sigh. Did Henry go somewhere? That would be weird, he had been the one to suggest meeting around noon, so she guessed that meant he should be free around that time. And even if something really did come up, he would have told her about it and cancelled or postponed the tour.

So why couldn't she reach him for almost an hour now? By now the ringing of the telephone should have woken him up. Unless... _'Maybe his phone is broken or something?'_

After looking at the mobile phone in her hand for a minute, thinking about what to do, Alice finally made a decision. She got up from the bed she was sitting on and put on a slightly too big pullover that covered a good part of her mini-skirt, in case the grey clouds outside the window might lead to rain, grabbed her messenger bag and left the hotel room.

No other way to find out if something was wrong with Henry's phone or if he truly was not home, than to simply go and see for herself.

* * *

Henry hadn't liked the way Detective Miller had been staring at him from the beginning he had been retelling what he already told the police back then. He had made sure not to reveal much more than the first time around, yet the other detective, Simons, simply kept asking about details he might have forgotten at that moment due to his shock. It was going in circles, and Henry didn't seem to be the only one getting bothered by this, as Miller finally seemed to have enough of the game. His questions started getting more and more aggressive, causing Henry to get agitated.

"Are you _sure_ your memories haven't 'returned'?" The blond man had gotten up from his seat minutes ago and was now pacing the small room.

"No. As I already told you, more than once!"

"So you remember your neighbour screaming but not what happened afterwards? Not a single thing? Seems like a pretty selective memory loss to me." He stopped in front of Henry, propping his upper body up with his hands on the table, looming over the brunet.

"...That _is_ the last thing I clearly remember. I think I wanted to go and see if she's alright, but I'm not really sure what-"

"_Bullshit!_"

Henry flinched at the other man's sudden outburst of anger.

Miller grabbed a manilla folder that had been lying on his side of the table, throwing it down in front of Henry. "Maybe this will help you remember then."

"What are you doing?", Simons asked his partner incredulously. "You can't just show this to him now!"

"Oh yeah? Can't hurt when he has already seen it, can it?"

He opened it on a marked page, and Henry gasped at the sight. There were photos of Eileen, bruised and broken. He remembered them. He had seen them attached to an X-Ray film viewer in the Hospital World.

Miller turned some more pages, and Henry just couldn't help staring at them, paralyzed, his mind getting sucked back to those horror filled hours.

"Maybe you remember now, Mr. Townshend? Does any of this ring a bell?"

He finally stopped at a photo from the crime scene, Eileen lying on the floor in her apartment, the carpet underneath her soaked with her own blood. Henry could almost see little Walter standing close to her head, looking down sadly at her broken body. Could almost feel the world tilting as he fell to his knees opposite from the boy.

The enraged detective was practically shoving the photo into Henry's face. "How come you escaped with just a few cuts and bruises when the same attacker did _this_ to her? Beat her up to a bloody pulp? Even broke several bones!"

Oh, Henry remembered her broken bones quite well. The sprained ankle that had hindered her from walking quickly. _"Please don't go too fast, Henry! My leg hurts..."_ The pain written all over her face, tears threatening to spill from her eyes, while she had tried running when they were chased by the sound of a chainsaw and insane laughter. The broken arm that had hindered her from climbing ladders. _"Please come back soon, yeah?"_ The look in her eyes whenever he'd had to leave her alone for a while, fearing that Walter might find her.

"Matt, _calm down_!"

Henry barely registered Simons' voice cutting Miller short.

"Don't you see what you're doing to the man?"

Miller took a step back hearing his partner's voice. Breathing heavily, he took a look at Townshend. The man looked pale. His widened eyes were staring at the folder on the table, his lower lip trembling faintly. Just as he was thinking that he might finally get something out of him now, the door to the office opened.

"Detective Miller, a word with you please."

Turning towards the door, he spotted the chief looking rather displeased at him. Hesitating for just a second, the detective threw the photo on the table and went to leave the room. The chief was waiting for him a few stepps away from the office.

"What has gotten into you, Miller?"

"It seemed like the best approach to me since we didn't get anything out of that guy using other methods. You can tell he's been lying, and now we might at least get him talking! If you just give me ten more minutes-"

"No."

Miller blinked. "What?"

"No. Don't you remember what the psychologist on-site said? You could have just triggered the man back into his trauma, and then we wouldn't get _anything_ out of him! These things need time."

A short moment of silence followed the chief's words.

"Simons will finish the interrogation on his own."

"But-"

"No buts. I don't want you inside there until you have cooled yourself."

With that the detective was left behind, watching Henry Townshend look up as the Chief opened the door and went inside.

Oh, he wouldn't just let him off like that... He was sure that he had almost gotten the bastard to talk! No, Matthiew Miller was simply going to continue the interrogation on his own; at the crime scene itself - Henry Townshend's apartment.

See if _that_ will help him remember.

* * *

Brandon Perkins smiled triumphantically at the door in front of him. It had taken some time and nerves, but he had managed to distract that old superindentend long enough to "borrow" a key ring with the master key for the apartments in this building from him. And it was just his luck that Townshend didn't seem to be at home. He had waited for over half an hour, ringing the bell and knocking on the door several times and no one had answered. There had also been no sounds at all coming from apartment 302 for the past fifteen minutes that he had been listening in front of the door, so he felt confident to unlock it.

But just as he had taken the keys out of his messenger bag, about to put them into the lock, someone entered the hallway he was standing in. Mentally cursing the bad timing, he put the hand holding the keys down and let it rest at his thigh, facing the interrupter – and cursed again.

Townshend's cousin was coming towards him, a surprised look on her face.

"Hey", she greeted him, once she arrived in front of him and the apartment. "Brandon, right?"

The journalist put on an easy-going smile and nodded. "Glad you remembered it."

She returned his smile for a brief moment, before asking, "You here to see Henry?"

"Yes, but he doesn't seem to be home… Or at least he isn't answering the door."

"Oh." She blinked. "So he really does seem not to be there. He wasn't answering the phone, either."

Good to know.

"Weird… He usually wouldn't go anywhere without cancelling a date."

"You had a date?", he asked, raising a dark brow.

"Yeah, he wanted to show me around town... well, that blows." The girl sighed, rubbing the back of her head with a slightly confused look. "Wonder where he went off to..."

When Brandon didn't comment on that, she sighed and continued, "Seems like I'll have to find something else to do until he's back."

That would have been the perfect opportunity to engage her in another conversation and try to get some information out of her – but as it was, the key in his hand seemed like a more promising way to get information, especially with the girl's lack of knowledge about the murders in mind. So instead of offering to show her around, he simply replied, "Sorry to hear that. Hope we'll have more luck later... You know what, I'll leave him a message under the door and let him know we were here." That would give him an excuse to stay behind.

"Right, good idea... Well, guess I'll be off again, then." When there came no other response, she added a quick "Bye" and turned back to the way she came from.

"Bye", the journalist replied, watching her leave the hallway around a corner. _'Finally.' _He really didn't want to lose such an opportunity, and who knew how much time he had left until Townshend returned... He faced the door again, moving the keys towards the lock.

* * *

_'Well, that went kinda awkward...'_, Alice mused as she turned the corner. She hadn't really known how to act around that Brandon guy, since Henry didn't seem to be on good terms with him, and seeing him at Henry's place had taken her by surprise. He seemed nice enough, though, so Henry's reaction the day before really looked kind of odd... Now that she thought about it, hadn't Brandon seemed like he knew what was going on with Henry? That thought made her stop. He'd even correctly guessed about her checking on Henry... maybe that was the reason why Henry didn't want her to be around Brandon? Maybe he feared Brandon might tell her what was going on? She had to admit that she was probably stretching it quite a bit, but the possibility was there...

Alice turned around again, feeling a little guilty. She had promised Henry not to push him into revealing what was going on, but that might be just too good an opportunity to find something out without having to bother Henry himself...

She turned the corner, only to stop dead again when she saw Brandon unlocking Henry's apartment. Quickly collecting herself, she continued walking towards him. "Hey!" Hearing her voice, the man faced her with a surprised look, before quickly pulling the door open and entering the apartment. Alice picked up speed and ran towards the door, and just as Brandon was about to close it behind him, she managed to put her right foot in before the door could snap shut, her leather boot catching most of the impact. "What the hell do you think you're doing!"

She heard the man sigh audibly, before the pressure against her boot lessened. Pushing the door open, she saw him simply going further into what looked to be the living room. Face turned into a frown, she followed him.

As soon as she had stepped over the threshold, Alice noticed some kind of oppressive atmosphere lingering in the room. The further in she went, the heavier it seemed to get. She had only taken a few steps into the apartment, when she felt dizzy all of the sudden. Staggering a bit, she supported herself on a counter to her left that seperated a kitchen from the living room.

"Alright there?"

Alice blinked repeatedly, shaking her head to clear it when she heard Brandon's voice. "Yeah..." She straightened herself and turned to the direction his voice came from.

"You're bleeding..." Brandon was frowning slightly, pointing a finger at his nose.

Alice touched the skin under her own nose and whe she moved her hand back, there really was blood on it. "Oh...", she replied, staring stupidly at her bloody fingers.

The man moved next to her and after a few seconds something white was held in front of her face. "Here."

"Thanks." She took the offered roll of paper towels and tore one of, holding it to her nose.

A few moments passed in silence, each of them keeping their eyes on the other. The dizziness had eased a bit and when she was sure that the bleeding had stopped, Alice removed the paper towel from her face. She let her free hand rest on her waist and and put on a determined face. "I believe you have some explanations to do, Mister."

-Chapter 6 end-

_A/N: Oh my... I'm terribly sorry for the extremely long wait. 2011 (and -so far- 2012 as well) has been a rather bad year, a lot of things happened that robbed me of my motivation to do anything creative._  
_I can't say how long the next update will take, since I'm actually quite surprised myself that I managed to finish this chapter in one go today, but I really hope it won't take another year *cough*._  
_So, sorry again, and a big Thank You to everyone who still keeps following this fanfic, even despite the unanounced hiatus! :)_


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